PACO NEWS
With guidance from our Governor, state public health officials and the CDC, many live PACO events will be offered online, postponed or cancelled. These decisions have been made due to increasing concerns about COVID19 and out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety of PACO members, sustaining members, sponsors and guests at PACO events.
Franklin County Clerk of Court News - Updates to eFlex System as of October 13, 2020
To continue modernizing the eFlex system, beginning Tuesday, October 13, 2020, the Franklin County Clerk of Courts' Office will no longer accept legacy Microsoft Word format (.doc) files into the eFlex system. This file format was last used in Microsoft Word 2003, which has been out of support since October 2014 and has recently caused processing issues. Going forward, please save Word documents as a “.docx” extension before uploading into eFlex.
PACO - Thank You to Sophia Chang, Esq.!
PACO's Programs Committee would like to Thank Sophia Chang, Esq., Pro Bono Director at the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation for her presentation on October 13, 2020 at PACO's General Membership meeting. It was a great presentation and very informative!
PACO - Legal Insights - October 29, 2020 - Franklin County's Court Appoint Special Advocates (CASA) Program - Register Today!
PACO is excited to have the Franklin County’s Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program present to PACO about the role of a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) in an abuse/neglect/dependency case, how CASA’s work has changed during COVID-19, and how to become a volunteer GAL with CASA of Franklin County.
Speakers:
Morgan Bommer-Guinn
Morgan is the Director of Volunteer Management with CASA OF Franklin County and joined the team in March of 2020. She provides pre-service training to new volunteers, directs in-service trainings, and oversees and provides support to volunteer GALs. She graduated from Hampshire College with a focus in bio-political anthropology and public health.
Alex Paquet
Alex, is the Volunteer Outreach Coordinator for CASA of Franklin County. He helps recruit, screen, and onboard new volunteer GALs, and has been with CASA since March of 2020. Before CASA, he worked as a research assistant at OSU’s Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy. He holds a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University.
When: Thursday, October 29, 2020
Time: 12 Noon - 1:00 p.m.
Place: Zoom (link to be provided closer to date of event)
Registration: Wild Apricot - https://paco.wildapricot.org (go to calendar; select the date/event to register)
PACO - Paralegal Volunteers Needed to be Precinct Election Officials on Election Day - You can Earn 4 Hours of CLE Credit!
The Ohio Supreme Court made a one-time rule change in conjunction with the Secretary of State Frank LaRose, to work on ways to staff the election polls this year during COVID-19. If you are interested in being a Precinct Election Official (PEO) on Election Day November 3, 2020, you can earn 4 hours of CLE credit. Contact your local Board of Elections office and/or visit the Ohio Secretary of State's website for more information on how to sign up to be a poll worker. To be eligible for the four credit hours of CLE you must work the entire day at the polls (5:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.) , attend a training class at your local board of elections office. There’s an application process to go through, so anyone interested should start that process now.
What is needed to obtain the 4 hours CLE credit? Paralegals and attorneys will be provided a form at the conclusion of Election Day which will document their attendance at the 2-hour training class as well as actually serving as a PEO, and that form is what is to be submitted to the OSBA for confirmation of the CLE credit.
Illinois Paralegal Association Invitation to PACO Members - Fall Conference November 4-5, 2020
Illinois Paralegal Association's Virtual Fall Education Conference is being held on November 4 - 5 with 20 hours of CLE Credit available. NFPA Members can get $25 off the non-member price with coupon code: NFPAdiscount25
To register or for more details visit https://pheedloop.com/ipa2020fec/site/home
Delaware County Community College’s Paralegals Invitation to PACO Members - Virtual Law Roundtable November 12, 2020
The VIRTUAL Law RoundTable Event is Scheduled for November 12, 2020, between 12:00pm to 3:30PM. Register online at dccc.edu/paralegal-roundtable. This event gives Lawyers THREE FREE CLE CREDITS and provides Paralegals with a CERTIFICATE from the Delaware County Bar Association.
Registration link is open until Nov 9th. A ZOOM LINK to join the meeting will be sent to participants 24/48 hours before the event.
PACO - November 17, 2020 General Membership Meeting - Register today!
PACO's Programs Committee has been busy coordinating General Membership Meetings which are held monthly via Zoom during COVID-19, from 12 Noon- 1:00 p.m. We are excited to welcome our Region III Director from the NFPA, Tracey Woolsey, RP in November.
Speaker: Tracey Woolsey, RP - Region III Director for NFPA
Tracey has been a paralegal for over 25 years and has experience in many areas of law. Tracey currently works in-house as a Corporate and Transactional Paralegal with Cummins Inc. (industry is diesel engines, power generation, filtration and hydrogen power) She has been active in NFPA for over 10 years and has been Region III Director for almost one year.
Topic: NFPA Updates and Benefit Information for Members along with NFPA changes and how PACO members can get involved with the NFPA.
Date: November 17, 2020
Time: 12:00 Noon - 1:00 p.m.
Place: Zoom Meeting (link to be provided)
Registration for Event: Wild Apricot - (go to calendar; select the date of event to register)
Calling All PACO Members - Writer Needed for CBA Lawyers Quarterly Publication!
Calling all PACO members to write articles for the Winter Issue of the CBA Lawyers Quarterly publication regarding Zoom Ethics. The theme will be Zoom Ethics such as Appearance (Dressing) while on Zoom, Remote Depositions, Preparing Clients via Zoom, Funny Court Stories from Zoom. If anyone has a Zoom story relevant to the Paralegal Profession, let Garth know if you are interested in writing for the CBA Lawyers Quarterly. The deadline for submissions is November 6, 2020.
Some of the benefits of writing for the CBA Lawyers Quarterly:
â—‹ Fosters discussion about paralegal roles and utilization within the writer's area of practice
â—‹ Gives your law office, legal department, corporation or government office positive exposure
â—‹ Gives the writer the opportunity to network with others in the legal profession
â—‹ Connects PACO and its members to the legal community
For more information, contact Garth Rowbotham at: photography@pacoparalegals.org
NFPA - 2020 Annual Convention - First VIRTUAL Annual Meeting & Convention - Registration is Live!
If you have always been interested in attending the NFPA Convention and could not, this is your chance to experience it as registration for the National Federation of Paralegal Association's 46th Annual (Virtual) Convention is now live!
This is the first NFPA Virtual Annual Meeting and Convention and hope you will consider attending. The Convention will be held from October 22-25, 2020 (Central time). Discover the latest trends through educational sessions and workshops that will immerse your knowledge and elevate your professional career.
The Keynote Speaker is Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Paul C. Thissen who will be speaking about the expansion to Access to Justice and Minnesota's proposed pilot project to allow legal paraprofessionals to provide limited legal advice and to appear in court for certain cases. Be sure to register today!
Thursday - October 22, 2020 - Continuing Legal Education Sessions and Workshops
Friday - October 23, 2020 - NFPA Region Meetings
Saturday - October 24, 2020 - Policy Meetings
Sunday - October 25, 2020 - Policy Meetings
Visit the NFPA's Convention Schedule-at-a-Glance page for more information: https://www.paralegals.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3826
Visit the NFPA's registration page at: https://www.paralegals.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3825
CBA Corner